Petrogenesis and tectonic association of rift-related basic Panjal dykes from the northern Indian plate,North-Western Pakistan: evidence of high-Ti basalts analogous to dykes from Tibet

Mineralogy and Petrology - Rift related magmatism during Permian time in the northern margin of Indian plate is represented by basic dykes in several Himalayan terranes including north western...     

A new empirical equation for predicting the maximum initial amplitude of submarine landslide-generated waves

Landslides - The accurate prediction of landslide tsunami amplitudes has been a challenging task given large uncertainties associated with landslide parameters and often the lack of enough...     

Microbiostratigraphy of Kazhdumi Formation in the Northwestern Shiraz (Southwest Iran) on the Basis of Foraminifera and Calcareous Algae

The middle Cretaceous Kazhdumi Formation,with a thickness of 222 m,belongs to the Bangestan Group and occurs in the Zagros folded zone in southwest Iran.The lower boundary with the Dariyan Formation is disconformable,which is recognized by iron oxides and glauconite.The recognized microfossils are Valvulammina sp.,Scandonea sp.,Daxia cenomana,Choffatela sp., Pseudolituonella reicheli and calcareous algae-Lithocodium aggregation(which belongs to the Sarvak Formation),representing the beginning of Cenomani...     

Support vector machines and feed-forward neural networks for spatial modeling of groundwater qualitative parameters

The present study attempts to model the spatial variability of three groundwater qualitative parameters in Guilan Province, northern Iran, using artificial neural networks (ANNs) and support vector machines (SVMs). Data collected from 140 observation wells for the years 2002–2014 were used. Five variables, X and Y coordinates of the observation well, distance of the observation well from the shoreline, areal average 6-month rainfall depth, and groundwater level at the day of water quality sampling, were considered as primary input variables. In addition, nine qualitative variables were also considered as auxiliary input variables. Electrical conductivity (EC), sodium concentration (Na⁺), and sulfate concentration (SO₄ ^2?) of the groundwater in the region were estimated using ANNs and SVMs with different input combinations. The results showed that both ANNs and SVMs work well when the only primary input variable is the well location. The ANN yielded an RMSE of 1.03 mEq/l for SO₄ ^2?, 1.05 mEq/l for Na⁺, and 203.17 μS/cm for EC, using the X and Y coordinates of the observation wells in the study area. In the case of SVM, these values were, respectively, 0.87, 0.87, and 176.68. Considering the auxiliary input variables (pH, EC, and the concentrations of Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Cl^?, SO₄ ^2?, and HCO₃ ^?) resulted in a significant decrease in the RMSE of both ANNs (0.22, 0.30, and 33.04) and SVMs (0.26, 0.34, and 36.23). Comparing these RMSE values with those of cokriging interpolation technique (0.59, 0.98, and 177.59) indicated that ANNs and SVMs produced more accurate estimates of the three qualitative parameters. The relative importance of auxiliary input variables was also determined using Gamma test. The output uncertainty of ANNs and SVMs were determined using p-factor and d-factor. The results showed that SVMs have less uncertainty than ANNs.     

Geochemical Aspects of Hypogene Hydrothermal Alteration Zones in the Chol‐qeshlaghi Area,NW Iran: Constrains on REEs

Chol-qeshlaghi altered area lies in the northwestern part of the post-collisional Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc, NW Iran. Pervasive silicic, argillic, phyllic and propylitic altered zones appears to be intimately affiliated to the fluids derivative of upper Oligocene Khankandi granodiorite. This paper is dedicated to the identification of geochemical characteristics of hydrothermal alterations, focusing on the determination of the mass gains and losses of REEs, to gain significant insights regard...     

A new approach for developing comprehensive agricultural drought index using satellite-derived biophysical parameters and factor analysis method

The accurate assessment of drought and its monitoring is highly depending on the selection of appropriate indices. Despite the availability of countless drought indices, due to variability in environmental properties, a single universally drought index has not been presented yet. In this study, a new approach for developing comprehensive agricultural drought index from satellite-derived biophysical parameters is presented. Therefore, the potential of satellite-derived biophysical parameters for improved understanding of the water status of pistachio (Pistachio vera L.) crop grown in a semiarid area is evaluated. Exploratory factor analysis with principal component extraction method is performed to select the most influential parameters from seven biophysical parameters including surface temperature (T _s), surface albedo (α), leaf area index (LAI), soil heat flux (G _o), soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and net radiation (R _n). T _s and G _o were found as the most effective parameters by this method. However, T _s, LAI, α, and SAVI that accounts for 99.6 % of the total variance of seven inputs were selected to model a new biophysical water stress index (BPWSI). The values of BPWSI were stretched independently and compared with the range of actual evapotranspiration estimated through well-known METRIC (mapping evapotranspiration at high resolution with internal calibration) energy balance model. The results showed that BPWSI can be efficiently used for the prediction of the pistachio water status (RMSE of 0.52, 0.31, and 0.48 mm/day on three image dates of April 28, July 17, and August 2, 2010). The study confirmed that crop water status is accounted by several satellite-based biophysical parameters rather than single parameter.     

Quantitative and qualitative simulation of groundwater by mathematical models in Rafsanjan aquifer using MODFLOW and MT3DMS

Agriculture sector by using 80% of freshwater is the greatest water consumer in Iran. Excessive use of agricultural fertilizers in last decade, caused accumulation of enormous amounts of salts and subsequence declined the physical properties of soil. In desert and dry regions such as Rafsanjan plain, use of the groundwater resources is more than the surface water resources. Therefore, information about the quality of these resources remains a necessary task for optimum management, protection of water resources, and stopping the future damages. In this study, the groundwater quantity and quality of Rafsanjan plain was investigated by MODFLOW and MT3DMS. The presented quantitative model for this aquifer was compared by observed data and calibrated. This model was used to predict a 10-year period. Results show that water elevation decreases approximately 15 m for 10 years to come in this plain. Qualitative model results show that most quality parameters will increase. Electrical conductivity will increase more than other parameters. As values of this parameter will reach 16,000 µs/l for next 5 years. Therefore, we suggest that exploitation of water from these resources should be reduced and discharge from some of agricultural wells stop; also we suggested that recharge to groundwater resources should be increased and agricultural activities should be limited or improved using of modern irrigation systems in this plain.     

Geochemistry and origin of Dehoo manganese deposit,south Zahedan,southeastern Iran

Dehoo manganese deposit is located 52 km to the south of Zahedan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, southeastern Iran. This deposit that lies in the central part of the Iranian Flysch Zone is lenticular in shape and lies above the micritic limestone-radiolarite cherts of the upper Cretaceous ophiolite unit. It is hosted within the reddish to brown radiolarite cherts and in places interlinks with them, so that the radiolarite chert packages play a key role for Mn mineralization in the region. Investigated ore-paragenetic successions and the geochemical characteristics of the Dehoo deposit were studied by means of major oxide, trace, and rare earth element (REE) contents that provide information as to the mineral origin. Strong positive correlations were found between major oxides and trace elements (Al₂O₃-TiO₂, r = 0.95; TiO₂-MgO, r = 0.94; Fe₂O₃-Al₂O₃, r = 0.90; MgO-Al₂O₃, r = 0.84; MgO-Fe₂O₃, r = 0.88; Fe₂O₃-TiO₂, r = 0.91; Fe₂O₃-K₂O, r = 0.74; Al₂O₃-K₂O, r = 0.69; Al₂O₃-V, r = 0.72; TiO₂-V, r = 0.73, and MgO-V, r = 0.69) that testify to the contribution of mafic terrigenous detrital material to the deposit. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of all ore samples are characterized by negative Ce (0.06–0.15, average 0.10) and slightly positive Eu (0.29–0.45, average 0.36) anomalies. Based on ratios of Mn/Fe (average 56.23), Co/Ni (average 0.33), Co/Zn (average 0.38), U/Th (average 3.40), La/Ce (average 1.45), La_n/Nd_n (average 2.16), Dy_n/Yb_n (average 0.33), and light REE/heavy REE (average 8.40; LREE > HREE), as well as Ba (average 920 ppm) and total REE contents (average 6.96 ppm) negative Ce and positive Eu anomalies, Dehoo could be considered a predominantly submarine hydrothermal Mn deposit complemented by terrigenous detrital mafic material.     

Investigation into the effect of fault properties on wave transmission

The estimation of wave transmission across the fractured rock masses is of great importance for rock engineers to assess the stability of rock slopes in open pit mines. Presence of fault, as a major discontinuity, in the jointed rock mass can significantly impact on the peak particle velocity and transmission of blast waves, particularly where a fault contains a thick infilling with weak mechanical properties. This paper aims to study the effect of fault properties on transmission of blasting waves using the distinct element method. First, a validation study was carried out on the wave transmission across a single joint and different rock mediums through undertaking a comparative study against analytical models. Then, the transmission of blast wave across a fault with thick infilling in the Golgohar iron mine, Iran, was numerically studied, and the results were compared with the field measurements. The blast wave was numerically simulated using a hybrid finite element and finite difference code which then the outcome was used as the input for the distinct element method analysis. The measured uplift of hanging wall, as a result of wave transmission across the fault, in the numerical model agrees well with the recorded field measurement. Finally, the validated numerical model was used to study the effect of fault properties on wave transmission. It was found that the fault inclination angle is the most effective parameter on the peak particle velocity and uplift. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of long term trends in apple cultivation and its productivity in Jammu and Kashmir from 1975 to 2015

GeoJournal - Horticulture plays a pivotal role in the economy of Jammu and Kashmir. Owing to favourable agro-climatic conditions, temperate horticulture is fast expanding in the state which is...